


That's the Sound of me not Calling You Back

by boldlyanxious



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Heavy Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23811238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boldlyanxious/pseuds/boldlyanxious
Summary: The place was well-known quality, high-priced cocktails and the possibility of bumping into someone who knew someone famous. No one expected to see the personal assistants for Gabriel Agreste and Jagged Stone to be breaking their phones while singing karaoke after the highly successful Gabriel fashion week with performance by Jagged Stone.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 46





	That's the Sound of me not Calling You Back

Activity buzzed around Nathalie as she fumed. She worried ceaselessly for weeks and now Paris fashion week has gone beautifully for Gabriel brand. She didn't expect endless praise from the man. She knew exactly who she worked for and loved him anyway. But as he climbed into the limo to head home he only said, "Your shirt is coming untucked. You should fix that."

She did fix her shirt before helping to pry Adrien away from his exuberant fans and get him into the car his bodyguard was driving. She left the tablet on the seat by the Gorilla. "Would you make sure this gets back to Monsieur Agreste for me. As of right now nothing has changed in either schedule. I will see you both Monday." She could see Adrien smirk knowing that she didn't take days off and that she was likely very angry at something his father had done.

\---

Penny knew the last time she had felt this way she had been akumatized. Jagged's show had gone better than anyone could have expected. The newest album was coming along beautifully. Penny has perfected the art of knowing what was needed and giving it Jagged as he was asking. The last album was up for an award and they wanted to make a documentary about the real Jagged. Penny even managed to keep the more expressive fans out of his space. She felt like she could see it in their eyes. Even so after the show Jagged had a list of demands and complaints for Penny to solve. She made some notes on the tablet and made a phone call before telling Jagged she would see him after the weekend and that she was officially off the clock. She closed him into the limo and let the driver know to have the hotel send security out to assist if fans were waiting outside.

\---

Nathalie saw that the bar was crowded with happy, chatty people so she just made a bee line for the last bar stool when she saw Penny Rollings arrive at the same time from another direction. 

Penny looked up when she saw Nathalie Sancoeur reach for the stool she had intended to claim. "If you were anyone else I would fight for the stool, but you must be as exhausted as I am. Wanna share?"

"That will do. I just need a drink. Or a life swap."

"Well just in case you work for a man as dramatic as the one I do, the show was phenomenal. I bet you did all the details while he took all the credit."

"He will get all the credit tonight," Nathalie said, pulling out Gabriel's credit card. "I'm starting a tab. What can I get you?"

"That ruins my plan of rockin' out on Jagged." Penny tapped a purple lightning card on the bar. "How about a game?"

"What kind of game? I intend to take my drinking tonight very seriously."

"Oh me too. The game is for another stool. Each of us has a man alone on the other side. The first to make their man leave gets to allow their boss to treat us both for the night."

"That is brilliant." Nathalie stuck out her hand. "They have an entire hero themed martini menu. But first, let's start with cataclysm shots." She turned to signal the bartender.

\---

They had 2 shots each while waiting on their first martinis, the lucky charm. But the men both left before they finished the first drink but 2 drinks later they were still arguing details of who should be stuck with the bill.

"I'm telling you I started the man down and he was getting his tab closed out before the other man." Nathalie said with emphasis.

"I intentionally irritated him until he left. He couldn't finish his drink fast enough. He threw money down and almost knocked his chair over trying to get away."

"Fine. We will split it. We better order food. I didn't eat most of the day and I need the charge to reflect my anger."

"Same here. I've never even charged Jagged like this. I have it to pick up things he needs in what we call my off time. Which is a joke. I'm never 'off'."

"What is the deal with men. Can they do nothing on their own? It's the same with Monsieur Agreste. I have the card for his unending needs because the job is my life. There is no other time. I should have done this sooner."

"He keeps messaging. It's so hard not to check. I feel like a foolish child. I knew it would be a demanding job. But how did I let myself fall in love with the man I work for."

"It either isn't foolish or we are holding the first support group meeting for fools in love."

Penny looked up at Nathalie. "You too? You do a wonderful job of being professional."

"It's slightly more relaxed in his home unless Adrien is home. But he is not receptive to emotion a lot. He certainly figured out technology though." She held up the phone for Penny to see the number of notifications.

"This is what happens when you lock yourself in away from everything. People need contact with others. You can't control interactions and as unsettling as it may be sometimes we need the unexpected."

"Well I'm still ordering more. But I want to be able to control some things."

"Some things yes. Can't get too wild. If I end up on the stage singing in karaoke then I've gone too far and you will save me." Penny said pointing to where the DJ was setting up.

"I can do that. I don't think even an akuma could possess me to sing karaoke but I expect you will do the same for me."

"Agreed."

\---

2 hours later they had finished all the offerings of the heroes' menu. They were arguing over which one was best. The bartender was laughing at them as she took away a plate of food. Nadja Chamack had joined them an hour ago. She hadn't had as much as them but she seemed dedicated to catching up. Alec apparently wasn't as charming as his TV persona and she wanted to forget for a night while her daughter stayed with her grandparents.

"Oh. They used to make a liquid luck drink. I wonder if they still have it." Nadja said.

"Let's try it then." Penny agreed. The bartender nodded and made 3 of them.

"I'm getting nervous about this," Nathalie said.

"It will be fine. Just relax. Let's do another cataclysm shot before we go up there. Nadja, do you want one too?"

"Definitely. If you want me to record and post I'm going to need the liquid courage."

The bartender once again delivered their requests letting them know to drink up because they were next.

The ladies downed the shots as the DJ called them to the stage.

\---

The music intro to Lizzo's Truth Hurts started. Penny was into the beat as soon as it started. She worked for a rock star and was no stranger to stage performance. Nathalie started stiff until the song started speaking to her. She sang"non-committal" and the switch flipped. By the time she was singing about the career she was gone.

It made everything worth it when they sang "That's the sound of me not calling you back" Then they shocked the audience as they both threw their phones into the ground like a rocker smashing a guitar. Penny's phone shattered the screen and had a piece of the case fly off. Nathalie's hit on the smallest side before landing face down. The back and the battery flew off in different directions and the part that laid there had a piece that had warped away from the rest.

The crowd was yelling and cheering at the performance. They both were dancing around and singing without thinking about anything else. Nadja had to contain herself to get the best footage possible. In a slight break in the singing she panned down to the broken phones and then to the cheering crowd before focusing back on the singing ladies until they walked off stage waving at the crowd.

They say back down breathless. Happy the bartender had water ready and drinks if they wanted. Nadja showed them the screen ready to post on her personal account if they still wanted.

"Are you sure you want this posted?" Penny asked.

"Oh, just do it." Nathalie said reaching over and pushing the button.


End file.
